Germany-headquartered building materials manufacturer HeidelbergCement AG's reported resilient operating performance in the first half of 2020, particularly in North America and Europe, despite the COVID-19 pandemic, and reduced debt faster than expected. We now forecast better-than-expected credit metrics in 2020, with revenue only declining 6%-9% before recovering by 3%-5% in 2021, and funds from operations (FFO) to debt of about 25%-28% in 2020 and 27%-30% in 2021. We are therefore revising our outlook on HeidelbergCement to positive from stable, and affirming our 'BBB-/A-3' ratings. The positive outlook reflects that we may raise the ratings over the next 12 months if HeidelbergCement's FFO to debt comfortably exceeds 25% on a sustainable basis and the adjusted EBITDA margin remains at least at
